Every great social movement begins with a set of ideas validated, internalized, and then shared and amplified through media, grassroots organizations, and thousands, even millions, of conversations. A truth strikes a resonant chord, we hear it acknowledged by others, and we begin to discuss it with friends and associates.The new story spreads out in multiple ever-widening circles that begin to connect and intermingle.

A story of unrealized possibility gradually replaces the falsified story that affirmed the status quo. The prevailing culture begins to shift, and the collective behavior of the society shifts with it.For the civil rights and women’s movements, the old story said:

Women and people of color have no soul. Less than human, they have no natural rights. They can find fulfillment only through faithful service to their white male masters.

A profound cultural shift occurred between 1950 and 1980 as the consequence of a growing rejection of these stories in favor of a new story that recognized and affirmed the full humanity and rights of all people.

It began with the civil rights movement, inspired in part by the words and writing of W. E. B. DuBois, founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). His ideas were carried forward by others such as the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

Communicated through books, periodicals, and speeches, these ideas inspired and shaped countless conversations, particularly in black churches, about race and the possibilities of integration based on a full recognition of the inherent humanity of people all races.

Thinkers, writers, and activists who embraced the idea of integration engaged in verbal combat with those who defended the status quo as legitimated by the old story. As the story of possibility gained currency, proponents engaged in nonviolent civil disobedience in the form of sit-ins in segregated facilities, which began to create a new reality and set the stage for political demands to replace laws that institutionalized the old story with laws that institutionalized the new.

Even though this was recorded over a decade ago, there is nothing in it that is dated. If anything, it accurately predicts the present!

This speech was recorded live at MIT back in 1996. These aren't sound bites, they are documented truths expressed in honest language. By the way, Chomsky isn't in any way calling for 'class war' here, he is just describing the reality what has been going on for several decades now.

There is truth here that you never hear anywhere else. Even wild-eyed radicals seldom deliver hard, unpleasant facts this well. Let's face it, human rights have always been subordinate to business rights in the USA. But things have gotten outrageously worse in modern times. The U.S. is advocating a corporate tyranny far surpassing any level of totalitarianism found in the rest of the developed world. And it really started with outright criminal behavior under the "great" Ronald Reagan. I know- I saw it happen..

Perhaps the most frightening thing about this speech is its talk of "anti-politics". Briefly, this is the organized campaign to blame everything on the government- even when big business is really in control. They want the people to hate and fear the government, because democratic government has a dangerous flaw- it actually has the slight chance of becoming truly democratic. You see, corporations are perfect- perfect tyrannies.

The average worker, the average citizen, is never going to be able to change or control them. The government is the only thing the average citizen has the potential to control. Therefore the average citizen must be taught to hate, fear, or simply dismiss organized political action. What you get is "anti-politics" where people are totally atomized, fearful and hateful of nearly everything- and totally blind to the real problems.

LONDON — When the English Defense League sprang to life two years ago, it had fewer than 50 members — a rough-and-tumble bunch of mostly white guys shouting from a street corner about what they viewed as uncontrolled Muslim immigration.Now, the far-right group mentioned by confessed Norway gunman Anders Behring Breivikas an inspiration says its ranks have swollen to more than 10,000 people, a spectacular rise its leaders attribute to the immense global power of Facebook and other social networking sites.

“I knew that social networking sites were the way to go,” EDL leader Stephen Lennon told The Associated Press. “But to say that we inspired this lunatic to do what he did is wrong. We’ve never once told our supporters its alright to go out and be violent.”

A Facebook page under Breivik’s name was taken down shortly after the attacks last week. A Twitter account under his name had only one Tweet, on July 17, loosely citing English philosopher John Stuart Mill: “One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests.”

Norwegian investigators have pored through data on Breivik’s computer and say they now believe he was acting alone. They have also said they haven’t found any links of concern between Breivik and far right British groups such as the EDL.

In addition to Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter, the Internet hosts thousands of forums for far-left, far-right and other extremist groups. In Germany alone, far-right groups ran some 1,000 websites and 38 online radio stations as of late last year with many aimed at recruiting followers. Social networking sites, complete with politically charged music, are particularly drawing younger audiences who increasingly get their information outside of traditional media.

Extremists “still favor online chat platforms — often with several hundred participants — but they are increasingly turning to social media,” said Germany’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which called the danger of recruitment “considerable.”

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Roots

Revelation 13

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy...

...And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?...

Mark 13

And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.